Bronywyn
“Are you fucking kidding me, Tarnley?” I march down the steps and head straight for where he leans against a black SUV.
“Is it done?” Bella asks, and I nod, not taking my eyes off Tarnley. “Thank you,” she whispers and scurries away, leaving the two of us alone.
The others stay back, clearly worried I’m going to pop off again, and they should be. Every single one of them was a moron for coming out here without me. Shit, they didn’t even tell me they were doing it! “Weren’t you supposed to be meeting with Brad tonight?”
His crimson gaze remains unwavering on mine. “I did meet with Brad.”
“And you thought coming out here and going up against a hive queen was a fun way to wrap up the night?”
“It was something I’d asked Brad to look into, and he handed me over the address.”
“Then youwaitfor me so we can all go in together! I could have told you going up against a hive queen in her fucking hive was a bad idea!”
“Then why didn’t you? All the times we talked about it?”
“Because I assumed I’d be notified when you decided to come out and go up against her. I didn’t realize you were going to go rogue!” I practically scream it, but I can’t help it. Tonight gutted me. Emotionally, I’m raw, and I think he knows it. “We have enough going on, don’t you think? Enough risk in our lives? Can we agree to start eliminating that risk when necessary? We would have come up against her sooner or later!”
“I chose sooner,” he replies. “And yes, I didn’t know about the hive queen status or her power, but we’re all still standing, right?”
“Still standing.” I turn away from him as I fight off tears. “Still standing,” I repeat, again. “We’re only still standing because we just so happened to run into a dark fae who could dematerialize,” I snap. “Had we not, we likely would have had a larger fight on our hands.”
“A dark fae?” He straightens.
“She cosplayed as Bronywyn’s mom.” It’s not until Rainey speaks that I realize she’s moved in right behind me.
Tarnley’s eyes soften, and he moves toward me. I take a step back. “Don’t fucking coddle me, Tarnley. What you guys did tonight was beyond idiotic.”
“We didn’t go in without a plan,” Rainey defends.
I whirl on her. “No. You didn’t.” I’ll give them that, and logically, I know they didn’t actually do anything wrong. “But you were unprepared, and it nearly cost Tarnley his life. Now, I want to go the fuck home.” I head for the car, and just as I’m reaching for the handle, Tarnley comes to a stop right by the door.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers.
I offer him a nod then climb in as soon as he opens the door.